My Methods

Traditional Upholstery & Fine Furniture Restoration

Upholstered Seating

I believe that perhaps more important than the design of the chair are the materials that go into it. I love to use time-tested materials and techniques, such as eight-way hand-tied coiled springs, jute webbing, burlap, Italian twine, tacks, horsehair stuffing, cotton, muslin, feather/down cushions and superb fabrics.

This is the way chairs used to be built up, and results in a piece that feels great and lasts for decades.

It takes specialized skill and time, but the result is beautiful and long-lasting under the new cover.

If you have ever opened up (or sat upon) a chair with some age, you may have noticed that, if it was padded with foam, the foam has sagged, hardened or turned to crumbs and dust. Not so with horsehair, which has been found, intact, in many a very old piece! Sanitized and curled, new horsehair is lovely to work with and free of chemicals and decay. (Of course, foam is quite appropriate in pieces from the mid century and more modern times!)

Fabulous Fabrics

Being a tactile person, and an artisan, I love the feel and look of gorgeous fabrics. When you decide to have a treasured piece restored, why settle on ordinary materials?

I can order extraordinary upholstery fabrics from just about any of the amazing design houses, as well as from emerging textile designers and smaller houses.

Together, we can come up with selections you just won’t find anywhere else for your statement piece.

Wood Furniture

Frequently I find high quality, lovely but tired vintage dressers, desks, or cabinets that would be smashing all fixed up. I love to treat them to a bold color, shine up their brasses, and offer them up, on my website and in the studio.

I use superior methods, paints and topcoats, and thoroughly prepare the pieces using sandpaper, fillers and primers. I don’t like to wipe away every trace of their histories; one must expect vintage character marks and evidences of a former life under their new treatments. This way the piece has depth and character, which distinguishes it as one of a kind.